Sunshine Hidden in The Clouds
by Ospearen
Summary: A year and a half after the departure of Naruto for his training Team 8 was attacked while completing an at first simple deliver and retrieve mission. The outcome to this turned to Konaha's sunshine, Hinata Hyuga, to be captured and turned into a weapon of the Akatsuki. Will Naruto be able to bring his friend back? Or will he lose yet another comrade to darkness?
1. Prologue: The Once Meek Overcome

_What was this?_

 _Was this it?_

Why did it feel like there was so much left? So much more worth fighting for and so many things left to accomplish? Closing her own pale lilac eyes she was greeted by stunning blue ones. How were they so blue? How could they be so blue? A whiskered smile accompanied them and the words that followed felt like a sharp jab to her surely already broken ribs. _"I never go back on my words! That's my ninja way!"_ Would it be considered going back on her words if she just lied here? Just stayed here and closed her eyes and fell asleep? Sleep, it seemed so much more welcoming right now; so comforting. _No, I have to... I just have to, I'm not going to be weak anymore! I promised myself that when you left!_ Making an attempt to pick herself up the young ninja with lengthening dark hair set her weight on her forearms while lifting with her biceps. She managed to pick herself up about an inch or two off the ground before her trembling arms gave out and once again she fell face down into a small puddle of her blood that would only grow bigger with passing time. "Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, I'm s-sorry I wasn't s-strong e-enough." The words fell flat against the ground as tears began to mingle with blood.

It was supposed to be a simple mission. This wasn't supposed to happen, Hinata was supposed to grow stronger and welcome her first love home when he returned yet here she was. A pathetic bleeding mess on ground while her teammates were who knew how far away already. This was supposed to be a simple delivery of a scroll to the Village Hidden in the Sand and the recovery of a scroll from that very village, but it went so so wrong. It was the team's first mission on their own since Shino had become a chunnin. The genjutsu was so strong, none of them saw it coming, hell out of a team of ninjas no one could get passed with each of their abilities the rogue somehow went skillfully unnoticed. It was the wrong place in the wrong time. Hinata wanted to be strong and brave, like so many of her comrades, so when they realized what was going on the Hyuga had told her teammates to continue with the mission while she handled whoever was following them. It should have been easy with her Byakugan but it went wrong even then. Whoever set the genjutsu had set one again and this time it was even stronger than the one before. They didn't wear a headband, that or she couldn't get a good look at it for their movements seemed too quick to combat her own sluggish ones, she felt like her feet and wrists were holding the weights that Rock Lee carried around and then it all came crashing down with blows holding the intention to kill.

"The scroll?" The voice was surprisingly soft at first, a young woman from the sound of it, still the kunoichi found no need to reply; she didn't have it after all. A foot was pressed firmly into her back before it began to dig deeper with a twisting motion of irritation when no answer was given. "I see the Leaf Village is raising a bunch of crybaby ninjas who don't know how to answer a question, now where the hell is the scroll?!" The Hyuga's shoulder blades tensed against the foot between them before she answered. "Long... gone." A huff escaped the person above her before a sigh of relief came. "Guess I have no use for you anymore, good, I was getting tired of you anyway." Yelping at the weight on her back growing she felt a soft hand rest under her jaw to lift her head up. Lilac eyes met those of bloodshot eyes for a moment, before a kunai was placed against the Leaf Villager's throat. "Too bad, you had a pretty face." Closing her eyes Hinata gracefully accepted her fate before the pressure against her neck was released and a scream fell against the trees leaving the Land of Fire.

Before the kunoichi could even catch a break and lift her head a heavy hand gripped onto her tattered and bloodied jacket, raising her up themselves and pressing a bandaged sword into her soft stomach. "If you get to have fun, so do I. Even if she is halfway dead already I'll be nice and put her out of her misery." They brought the sword back and yanked it forward with a crushing force before a single "Wait." Stopped it from its impact nearly inches away from the young teen's abdomen. "We may have use for her. Her Village will deem her dead once they come back and her Byakugan is a purity in its own right." A grunt escaped the fish looking Akatsuki member before they turned back to their dark eyed partner. "Then we'll just take her eyes." There seemed to be an irritation in the other before they seemed to settle on a decision and came forward to the girl, taking out a kunai in a unrealistic speed they brought it to the half conscious girl's neck with a bone breaking force only for the sound of metal scrapping metal to make both the girl and the one holding her wince. "They're better use to us with their owner." Closing his eyes the man opened them only to have new red ones with black swirls wrapped around his pupils dig deep into the half parted lilac eyes of the Hyuga girl. "Now tell me, what is it you desire most at this very moment."

Hinata felt herself in a daze, all of it was happening so fast. The two black cloaked ninjas suddenly rescuing her only to try and kill her again brought her into the middle of life and death and she was staring death in the face currently with her luck. Talk of her eyes was the only thing that made her stir and shift uncomfortably against the grip on her. If they took her eyes her clan was of no use to the village! But the dark haired man seemed to think differently of the other's suggestion. When his eyes dug down to the very part of her soul she felt the answer on her tongue before her mouth moved to form the single word. "Strength." It was then she fell unconscious and went limp, only for the Uchiha to grab her by the waist and fling her across his left shoulder. "I thought so. We're taking her back to the hideout and making use of her. Her desire for strength will make her easy to manipulate for the time being." Disappearing in a jump without waiting for his comrade the once Hidden Mist ninja made a tsking sound. "Why does he get to do whatever he pleases? Pisses me off." Following after the other Akatsuki member they vanished without a trace.

* * *

The three ninjas left of their team reported back to the village in a solemn manner before presenting themselves before their Hokage. "And Hinata?" A low whimper came from the large white dog before the bug master raised his head to give his report. "She is deemed K-" "MIA" Kiba cut his team member short before they turned to him with stern eyes. "Kiba now is not the time to let your emotions cloud your judgement,Why? Due to the fact you saw it with your own to eyes and smelt it with your own nose. That area smelt of death." Tsunade raised her head at the word 'death' it was the word she dreaded hearing as soon as the three came into her office. "Is she or is she not dead?" Asked the Hokage in a demanding and serious tone before Kiba jumped to answer. "I didn't smell her death! Only that damn rogue ninja that got in our way, she could still be alive!" Stated the ninja before his teammate chipped in. "Her blood was practically decorating the trees, and my bugs couldn't find any trace of anyone else who would have been of help to her there. Only a very dark chakra like the one of the person she fought. My guess is that they came to finish her off and took the body." Tsunade stood up at this with a pound of a fist to the desk that easily broke it in half, both ninja's didn't even seem to flinch at this. "Damn it you two! Do you have any idea how much danger we're in now?! What in your right mind made you think that leaving a comrade behind would be a hell of an idea?!" Kiba kept quiet while Shino continued. "She told us she could handle it, that their chakra didn't seem as strong and for us to continue the mission. She was so determined to prove herself we let ourselves believe her but we did make our way back to her when it began to take too long, we were too late by the time we arrived." The blonde woman turned away from the two.

"Was the mission even completed?" A thud was heard before the door opened. "Just because we thought it was what she would have wanted, there's your damn scroll from the Sand." The door slammed as only the bug master and the Hokage were left. "You are dismissed Shino. I will aware the Hyuga Clan, they can arrange the service." The room was quiet and for a minute while staring out at her village the aging woman thought she was alone. "Without a body?" The question came with a hint of emotion to it, something the leader had never once heard from the boy. "There's no helping it. Now go, as much as Kiba and Akamaru need time to themselves, as do you Shino." With that the footsteps along with the opening and closing of the door let the Hokage know she was truly alone.

 _Were you alone when you died Hinata? You poor poor girl.  
_

* * *

Well then here we go! For a while now I've really toyed with the idea of Hinata in the Akatsuki, in a legitimate sense Hinata very well could have done something akin to such things if it wasn't for Naruto considering how weak she was seen as by her clan and the belittling in which came from that. It's just a nice thought to me though I've never seen one finished so I'd figure I'd take it upon myself to do such things, I already have so many ideas.


	2. Chapter 1: Gone but Not Forgotten

The number one, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja that was none other than Naruto Uzumaki seemed rather calm upon entering the village as the guards only seemed amazed at the returning pair, muttering in astonishment that the two had finally come home. The white haired sage following behind his student held his head proudly with a smug expression across it while a few of the ninjas who recognized them only seemed to gawk at how far the blonde genin had come. _To think there was a time they called him pathetic_. "Naruto come on, let's get going to Tsunade, she's got a surprise waiting for you. Everyone already knew we were arriving today." The teenage boy stopped from his sight viewing of his old home and turned back to his teacher with a slightly disappointed look. "I was hoping to sight view for just a little longer, this place really hasn't changed..." The young man's voice seems thoughtful and Jiraiya smiled at the maturity before it was quickly taken away from Naruto's sudden blubbering. "Oh oh oh! And I haven't had ramen here for years, common pervy sage we at least got to get some ramen first!" A sigh escaped the sage before he crossed his arms and looked to the Hokage summit with an amused expression. _You can lead a ox to water but you can't make it drink. Sorry Tsunade but some things never change_. It took some convincing but the older of the two was finally able to convince his student just to invite his friends for ramen later and they could all catch up that way, plus whatever Tsunade had waiting for them was going to be way more exciting than sitting down for a bowl of ramen. Those last words came out poorly which only lead to an argument about how there were few things more exciting than a nice good bowl of ramen. "Damn it Naruto I could list ten things off the top of my head now do you want to see what she has waiting for you or not!?" The aging man was starting to lose his temper with this kid. It came with a huff and a cross of the arms, a standoff with the orange and black clothed ninja before he finally replied. "Fine." That wasn't defeat, that was a 'I'm gonna get you back later' threat handed out politely. Leading the way to the summit now Jiraiya shook his head at his student's lacking of maturity, maybe they should have done some training with that too. Heaven's knew that damn Sexy-Jutsu of his still got Naruto his way at times.

"Ba-chan, I'm home!" Naruto yelled while making his way to the door of the Hokage's office, opening it he was caught off guard by the full room. With him there, all of Konaha's 11 were finally back together. Except for, wait a minute, Kohana's 9. Two were missing. "We got called in here for this?" A particularly lazy ninja stated with a yawn while another one with pale eyes who looked particularly on edge seemed to agree with. "I'd hate to be rude lord Hokage but my Clan isn't exactly in the best state right now, I should be back at the compound." Neji turned to the door, dismissing himself with his teammates watching with sympathetic eyes as he pushed passed Naruto. The Hyuga turned to look at him for a moment and when their eyes met Naruto could have sworn there was pain in them, mixed with something akin to longing. As if Naruto held something important with him that the Hyuga wanted nothing more than to take for himself. Something also lied within it, something akin to hate. "What the hell is his problem?" Naruto muttered under his breathe, it looked like Tsunade was just trying to give him a welcoming home from his comrades and the damn jerk had to ruin it and make a scene. It was then a particular dog smell hit Naruto's nose and he turned to see Kiba with a low hanging head. That was out of the norm he usually held his head with his nose upwards to detect any and every scent around him; along with just naturally holding a sense of arrogance of course. "Lord Hokage, sorry I'm late I was-" His words were cut short as his nose twitched and Akamaru came to his side allowing a low rumble in his chest that if Naruto didn't know any better he would have deemed a growl. Akamaru would never growl at him, oh but he did and Kiba looked equally pissed. "Oh, _he's_ back. Well I guess that's all I need to know. I can barely stand the thought of him what makes you think I can stand the sight and scent of him? I'm leaving." Without another word or waiting for a response he turned and left with Akamaru once again giving out a low growl before following his partner. "Okay, what in the hell was his problem!?" Naruto looked accusingly at Shino, a slight wave of disappointment reached him when he realized Hinata wasn't with him. She would have apologized for her jerk teammate and at least given Naruto a decent answer. Neji did say something about their Clan no being in the best shape right now so maybe that's where she was. She was apart of the main branch family he figured she probably would have been less flexible with her schedule to come welcome him and yet there was something disappointing about not seeing the shy Hyuga. "Since no one else is going to answer I will. He particularly is still recovering from a mission about a year ago, if I'm to be honest I still hold a bitterness for it with me. Neji was affected by it as well, in fact the whole Hyuga Clan was. If you'll excuse me as well, I'll be on my way too, Lord Fifth." Shino spoke with such coldness in his tone you would have thought the guy didn't have an ounce of liveliness in him, which he didn't but that was besides the point, he nearly gave Naruto the same glancing look as Neji did as he left. The blonde ninja was dumbfounded, for the first time in about three years he felt the hatred and coldness he had when he was little, like the mere sight of him brought on hatred. It nearly made his heart stop. Standing there in shock the remaining few seemed to be avoiding his gaze, looking to the ground or looking away in a thoughtful manner. Sakura glanced up at her teammate but the moment she saw his eyes meet her's she looked away again. Turquoise eyes drifting to Tsunade as if begging the Hokage to say something.

"Damn so no one's going to casually bring up how vague Shino was in his explanation? I always have to do these things what a drag." Shikamaru finally turned to look at Naruto and for a moment the ninja brightened up at someone acknowledging his presence, but the look of the other's face told Naruto what he was about to say didn't call for a brightening of the atmosphere. "About a year and a half ago; team 8 was sent on a deliver and retrieve mission to The Village hidden in the Sand. They were intercepted by a rogue ninja and their Hyuga member offered to stay behind and take care of the rogue while the others continued on with the mission." Shikamaru stopped in his story as if determining how to continue it. "Okay, what does that have to do with Shino, Kiba, and Neji acting like this is a pity party for them!?" Naruto demanded, a stone beginning to settle in his stomach when the mention of Hinata handling a rogue on her own seemed to have some sort of connection as to why she wasn't here. "Damn it Naruto you only make things more troublesome. The rogue turned out to be much more powerful than the three initially thought and well... how do I put this-" "Hinata was deemed dead and her body hasn't turned up anywhere." The room went silent as TenTen cut in and looked to Naruto. "If you were wondering why Neji was so upset it's because he had to go to his cousin's funeral without a body to mourn and the Hyuga Clan is still so disoriented at the thought of their precious eyes having been taken from a main branch member that they're thinking of putting that damned curse mark on every Hyuga no matter their status." The brown haired girl left the room right after with Rock Lee following. "I'm sorry Naruto for the welcome that has greeted you. I am more than happy to see you back but for now I must comfort my teammates." Bowing to the younger ninja before leaving Naruto stared at the remaining people. "Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino still haven't gotten over it either." Shikamaru finished. With a deep sigh the Hokage finally spoke. "Well there's no use trying to fix it now, everyone's dismissed."

As people began to leave still without looking at their returning friend Shikamaru was the last and stopped when Naruto grabbed him by the wrist. "Is it..." He couldn't even began to phantom finishing his sentence. "Yeah, sorry, hey listen though. Things turned out to be a real drag for you coming back, how about I gather some of us together who aren't a drag and we have Ichiraku Ramen later? On me since I brought it all up." Naruto barely nodded as Shikamaru sighed before leaving and closed the door behind him. Jiraiya held a serious aura to him as he stepped forth. "So the Hyuga's are finally cowering in fear of their mistake for deeming the girl weak and letting her go off on missions like that as a ninja?" The sage asked while Tsunade tensed at it. "Well when you put it so lightly serves the damn Clan right." Turning in her seat to look out the window again she sighed. "Things have been chaos since that girl died." Both turned at a grunt and saw as Naruto balled up his fists with his head hanging low. "What was that?" "She had a name! Her name was Hinata Hyuga and damn it she was the best one to come out of that bastard clan!" Tsunade's eyes softened as Naruto brought a fist upwards to clench at his jacket right above where his heart was. "You're right, she was a pure soul, one that left us too soon." Speaking in a hushed tone the busty woman finally shook her head. "Naruto you should take some time for yourself. Take Shikamaru up on his offer but not before you go home and process some things." He didn't even hesitate before leaving, making the Hokage slump in her chair and sigh. "It's so repulsive, that Clan of hers, they lost someone so good and the first thing they could think of was their precious gift. If you ask me the only gift they were given is that of being self-righteous bastards if you'll call that a gift." Jiraiya chuckled in a low tone. "Remember, she had a name. Hinata was it?" He asked, recalling his student's outburst. "Yeah."

They both stayed quiet for a long moment before Tsunade spoke. "Any word on the Akatsuki?" Hell she felt bad for dropping the topic of Hinata so suddenly but in reality that was that, the real threat right now was the Akatsuki; especially with Naruto back. "They've been quiet, but from what I hear they're on the move again. There's rumor's of a new face with them too, no one's been alive long enough to be able to give a description though. Brutal ninja really, they're racking up the body count." Tsunade seemed chilled at that information. "How come no one has seen them?" She asked. "Call it weird but apparently no one can get passed them, it's like whoever this new member is can just see people watching from distances they shouldn't be able too. The only reason there's rumor of a new member is for that very reason, Akatsuki business being held far off from where a tracker ninja was taken down. It's unlike what we've seen before so there just has to be a new face right?" Tsunade stayed quiet even longer at the explanation her teammate gave. "You wouldn't think that... maybe the Hyuga's do have a reason to panic about their technique being stolen?" Asked the Hokage in a hesitant tone. "If that was the case we should have found her body if that's all they wanted, perhaps just a new missing nin with a powerful ninjutsu?" Suggested the white haired sage to calm the woman's nerves. "I sure hope so."

* * *

The three figures had watched from a distance as the nine tails returned to the Leaf Village with the accompanying sage. Kisame turned to the two former Leaf Village ninjas and felt a challenge with both of them. One with dark eyes focused on the figures while the other had pale lilac ones, damn did he hate it when they activated them though. With both of them on the same team the only reason they kept him around was to get them in the mood to fight, if not for their patient along with non-confrontational natures they could have wiped out a whole shinobi village on their own by now if they ever felt like it. "Is something the matter?" The voice was soft and held a sinister tone to it as its owner turned to look at her partner. Her hair had grown to a considerable length now as her cloak was left open with bandages covering her legs until they reached black shorts along with a black shirt that gave away to fishnet one once it reached her upper chest and long sleeves to reveal her collarbone and arms. Her eyes almost dug into him the way Itachi's did now. "Nothing." Muttered the swordsman before the girl continued. "You're far too eager to fight Kisame, the time will come for us to make ourselves known." He wanted to reply with a snappish comment but stopped himself from doing so. Hinata had developed a cold demeanor ever since Nagato and Itachi took part in wiping her memories and replacing them with whatever made her so sinister now. Hell it was nice to have all three notable eye techniques around but it sure as hell made him wary; all three of them never settled right with him. "Who knows perhaps the Hyugas are still in a scuffle, maybe someone will take the time to wipe them out so something like Hinata never happens again." Hinata tensed at that; mentioning the Hyuga's was the only way to get a reaction out of her now. Whatever they did to her memories had created a blood lust unimaginable for her own clan. By any rate she'd wipe them out in a second to be the only holder of the Byakugan if given the chance. Itachi knew this very well, Kisame wondered if he intentionally wanted Hinata to wipe out her Clan, make him feel better about wiping out his own, but unlike him Hinata wouldn't leave any survivors. "Let's go, we know he's here so there's no point in sitting around anymore." Hinata left followed by Itachi. Damn those two are one in the same. Leaving to follow them Kisame took one last glance at the village he wanted nothing more than to have a little fun with before he finally turned his attention to catching up.

Something bothered the female member as she continued throughout the forest and towards their hiding spot. It was something about seeing that blonde jinchuuriki. The disowned Hyuga had wondered quite intently about it, even activating her Byakugan to try and get a better look at him but it only worsened things. Suddenly the presence of the other two behind her went silent and before Hinata could turn around to look at what exactly caused that the branches below her feet began to warp and turn to mush, trying to escape it in a panic as she realized what it was she turned around and put her hands together in a release hand sign, but before the kunoichi could even do that the ground fell away before her and she was engulfed by darkness.

Itachi lifted up his teammate and threw her over his shoulder like he had a year and a half ago as his Mangekyō Sharingan slowly faded while he turned to Kisame. "What the hell was that Itachi?" Asked the missing nin from the Hidden Mist in an irritated tone as Itachi simply dismissed him by turning away. "Think of her memories being locked away as being constantly held in a genjutsu. Only through some strong emotions will it break, this was her first time back to the Leaf Village so I'm not entirely surprised; she seemed far too alert once we arrived." Stated the Uchiha member without a second thought. "She'll be awake by the time we arrive to the hideout without remembering what happened." Kisame growled before making a statement. "She'll be of so much use when we constantly need to put a genjutsu on her." Itachi stayed quiet and that which only made the swordsman more curious. "What do you have planned?" Itachi remained calm for a moment. "A mission that will break her emotional conscious to the point that nothing will break the genjutsu. The Hyuga's have always been a nuisance in their own right, she'd also be more valuable to us if she was the only one left."

* * *

Actually wrote more for this chapter then I intended haha, welp let's hope I can impress during the next ;)


	3. Chapter 2: Genocide by Birthright

Tonight was a very important night, all Hyuga members' attendance at the compound had not only been request, but demanded. Twas the night in which the council would reach it's final verdict concerning the case of the missing Byakugan in which belonged to the assumed deceased Hinata Hyuga. The case itself had even been deemed the nickname of Hinata's Curse, a nickname that made those in which once knew the girl feel a sense of injustice. Hinata would have never wanted this.

* * *

Looking into the eyes of the young member, Itachi's red gaze decorated with black pinwheel shapes around the pupil stared deeply into her Byakugan. "Now's the time to make them pay, for everything they did to you." The mostly emotionless man almost sounded gentle as the girl's lilac eyes which were already light seemed to have a sort of glaze surrounding them. Itachi was right, the Hyuga's distress was village wide and it allowed for easy infiltration. Standing in the outskirts of the Hyuga compound the girl nodded ever so slightly. "Then make them." Stating it then in a demanding tone the dark haired girl vanished in an instance. Kisame allowed his presence to become known as he stepped forth from the shadows and growled. "She gets to commit mass murder while we stand around and babysit?" Itachi simply stood there looking towards the compound as the shadow effortlessly infiltrated it having known it like the back of her hand. "This is her burden and her's alone. We only interfere if the Anbu is to, or anyone important for that matter, yet the Gentle Fist isn't given such a name in order to simply sound nice." Turning around to disappear into the shadows Kisame had come from he seemed determined in his ideals. Hesitating for a moment the ocean dealer looking ninja finally gave in, from the rumors that had been accumulating, the swordsman was positive the Hyuga girl had become a silent killer.

It had been relatively easy, while there were guards at posts the cloaked figure simply landed with a graceful silence behind them before activating her Byakugan and engulfing both hands in chakra. Before the guards could even react to the activation of their rightful power a sharp pain was sent into their back and through their body as the chakra from the Akatsuki member delivered a subtle yet fatal blow. Both guard fell to the ground softly as the life drained from their eyes and the seals upon their foreheads vanished. It continued like this for quite some time, the girl wanted to get rid of the insignificant members of the clan before moving on to the council. Not once did hesitation fall upon her, even as a mother had barely put her child to bed, watching her child with a softness only a mother's eyes possessed. Hinata struck her down and then turned to the task of landing a hard blow direct center in the sleeping child's chest. Eventually she came to the council's room, it was in one of the more secluded areas of the compound to avoid spies or overhearing of clan business. They would eventually come to regret this decision in their last moments as the elders stood shocked when an Akatsuki walked into their office and any call for a guard fell on the deaf ears of the dead.

It was at this door she hesitated, almost realizing exactly what she was doing before Itachi's words began to burn into her mind again. Removing her cloak and letting it fall to the floor outside, her scratched headband was almost proudly displayed against her neck as she opened the door and walked into the room. It was an odd move, to reveal who she truly was to this single person before she killed them, remove the cloak and allow them to believe this was of her act and hers only; it was as if she wanted this person to know exactly who killed them.

Hanabi was sitting on the edge of her bedding in the middle of the room, sitting there with a saddened expression, and her crying became evident from her bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks. Looking up when one entered she simply sat there shocked. They had porcelain skin and long dark hair, their clothing hugged their body in a manner in which brought out the beauty of it. The young heiress envied them for a moment. The woman standing in front of her seemed perfect in every way, it wasn't until they looked up that her eyes truly widened. She recognized those eyes, those were the eyes in which had damned her to suffer the Bird Cage Seal within twenty-four hours time. "H-H-Hinata?" Standing up the girl's tears turned from saddened ones to joyful pupils. "You're back! This is great now the elders might reconsider their decision and we'll all be okay and-and Kiba and Shino will be so happy to see you! Dad will be happy too…." The last statement caused the young woman to stop and look at her little sister for a long moment. It wasn't until the other practically tackled them in a bear hug that her priorities and mission entered her mind once more. "I'm so glad you're alive, please don't let this be a dream." Pushing the girl away from her with one hand, Hinata could only watch as they looked at that hand in a confused manner. "It's time for you to awaken." Hanabi tensed at that. "W-what?" Looking up to see an activated Byakugan and a hand pulled back with chakra emanating from it Hanabi opened her mouth. Before she could even scream a sharp jab rippled through their body as a ball of blood rose from her throat, escaping in a cough which speckled Hinata's chest and lower face. "Why?" It was the first sentence which escaped the other without beginning with a stutter since this encounter before the little color in their eyes faded and Hanabi fell into her big sister's arms. The young girl's last thoughts were those of having been distraught, confused and painful. It was her very last one in which held some significance though; it was a thought of understanding. _I forgive you, nesan_. With that last thought the girl finally went limp. Letting her fall to the floor Hinata went back to retrieve her cloak before lifting her sister by her midsection with one arm and carrying her downstair to the person she was most eager to reunite with.

* * *

The head Hyuga sat at his desk with one palm against his head while the other took notes on the verdict of the council. Neji had been a strong advocate for them to simply be much more careful of their main branch members and stop the outrage in which had been caused by losing one in which had been the own fault of the head of their clan. For a boy who had the curse mark right across his forehead with the impending doom of it being activated for speaking out he was quite bold and strongly opinionated as to no one else having it sealed on them. Hiashi stopped his writing when footsteps were heard coming to his door. Assuming it was one of the council men to determine how to bring this information forth to the rest of the clan. They stopped at his door for a moment before he addressed them with a "Come in." As the door opened. "To think none of this chaos would be happening if Hinata simply could have stood her own." There was an eerie silence as Hiashi was almost forced to look up. "So no blame directed towards you, father?" The voice was cold and Hiashi sighed. "Hinabi while you may one day take my place as head of this clan, I asked you to keep to yourself while meddling in this affair." It was the thud of something hitting the ground hard that finally made him look up. "Oh, I apologize for dropping your precious heir so carelessly. Just as you did to me once long ago." It was impossible, the one that stood before him, the veins around her eyes, that hair and most but certainly not least the similarities she held to his late wife. Bringing his hands up to his face the clan leader formed hand signs, this had to be some sort of genjutsu. "Release!" Hinata sighed as she came to her father's side with a speed that almost matched, no surpassed that of an Anbu black op, his eyes widened. There came a sharp pain to his back as he crippled to the floor. "What happened to you? Who are you." There was a pressure on his back as a foot was placed right in between his collarbones. "The daughter you always wanted. The one in which would end her opponent without a moment's hesitation." Hiashi reached towards the body of his youngest daughter only for the pressure on his back to grow as the attacker's other foot came to slam down against his hand; stopping him in his tracks. "This clan is not what it once was, as far as I'm concerned I'm the only one capable of possessing such a gift. This is the end of an era. The end of a clan that has been corrupted for far too long. We are a clan that could skillfully make use of ourselves, the perfect silent killers, but you're far too obsessed with sitting back and acting important." Hiashi couldn't believe his ears, this person talking to him was no longer his daughter. "Hinata, I'm sorry." It was all the head could say before the pressure on his body became greater, causing him to clench his teeth and a firm blow stopped the chakra flow to his heart.

* * *

Neji walked towards the compound muttering lowly under his voice, the council had ruled to put a curse mark on everyone; leaving no one who possessed the Byakugan without it. He hadn't been able to think straight and simply agreed to Shikamaru's request in order to apologize to Naruto personally; and to get away from the Hyuga compound as quickly as possible. The blonde seemed out of it, of course he did no one had cared to notify him that yet another comrade had fallen. It had only been Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, and him; no one else seemed to care much to come. "Neji." Naruto addressed him solemnly. "I'm sorry for your loss." The Hyuga seemed surprised at the tone of genuine thought in his voice but he dismissed it. "It's been over a year already. I'm sorry for yours as well." Talk was mostly between the other three as Naruto and Neji stayed silent in a quiet vigil. Lee asked vigorously for a chance to train with Naruto to see how far he had come only for a half hearted reply while Shikamaru and Choji talked about their more recent missions together. As they all left the blonde haired ninja stopped the brown haired one. "Would you mind, maybe tomorrow or so, showing me to her tombstone. She was a comrade and I'd like to pay my respects." Standing perfectly still for a moment a sigh escaped the lilac eyed teen before he looked towards the burials. Hinata, if you could only see him now. Your heart would flutter at the thought of how much he cared. Nodding, Neji shrugged Naruto's hand off his shoulder. "Now I'll be leaving back to the compound, there's business to attend to."

There was something so eerie about the walk home, as if something wasn't entirely right. As the compound came into sight Neji activated his Byakugan and practically stopped in horror at the lack of activity there. Not only that, there was only one being standing in the building within the office of Hiashi. As if sensing him the being looked up to greet his eyes with their own before vanishing. Running into the compound he headed straight for the office. "Hia-" Stopping dead there were only two bodies in the office, the head of the family and the heir. _What's the meaning of this?_ Looking them over to identify what happened he realized the chakra points connected closely to the organ that was their heart had been severely damaged, the perfect silent kill. In all his shock he almost missed the blow, spinning around to block it he quickly came back with an attack of his own in which caused the attacker to jump back into the garden of the compound in order to dodge it. Getting a good look at their attire he was surprised to see a black cloak with red clouds decorating it. _The Akatsuki!? What is going on?!_ Jumping forth to land a blow his eyes widened as the other dodged it with ease and retaliated at a speed Neji could barely keep up with. The two spared as chakra danced off their hands with each blocked blow. Neji being matched far above his abilities was not even being able to get a look at the perpetrator as he did his best to focus on their hands and block their next blow, only knowing for certain that whoever this was possessed the Byakugan somehow. Yet something about this match seemed far too familiar, as if one point in time he had been in a fight exact to this. As if they were simply toying with him and finally became annoyed the next blow to come only to sway an arm of his to the side leaving a perfect opening. With a sharp thrust of an open palm to his stomach, the Hyuga prodigy flew back and into one of the pillars with brute force. Quickly regaining their stance the other one focused on the now entirely defenseless ninja before them and with a running start held back a hand in which was to unite with the chakra points near his heart. _So this is it?_

The blow never came as the attacker jumped back and the sound of a kunai hitting a pillar to the left of them was heard loudly; whoever threw that had one hell of an arm. "Who the hell are you!?" Turning to look at who had rescued him, for the first time since him having returned, Neji was actually happy to see Naruto. For a moment the now murderer of an entire clan stood dumbfounded at the blood that flowed down their palm in random areas from the slice of the kunai down the middle of it. It was as if they had no idea what their own blood looked like until this moment. Regaining their composure and jumping back into the shadows the Akatsuki member looked up with an activated Byakugan that caused Naruto to take a step back as he gritted his teeth. Before the other could make a move a voice sounded out throughout the compound. "We've run out of time and have been compromised, this match ends now, anyhow we already know which wielder would have died if the boy hadn't interrupted." Looking up Naruto was greeted by eyes in which were colored red by their activated Mangekyō Sharingan and his accompanying swordsman partner. "You bastards!" The figure below them obediently looked up to them before they stiffened, as if hesitation greeted their movements only for Itachi to stare down at them with an intenseness Naruto hadn't seen since the now rogue Sasuke had challenged his brother. "Your mission is complete and we wouldn't want you waking up in the middle of this." Confusion played on the Jinchuriki's face before the other jumped up to stand between the two, with long dark hair reaching their mid-back, as shadows began to distort their features all that was left to look at was the eyes of the three members as they looked down at the Nine Tails with an interest in them. Yet Naruto wasn't interested in that, what caught him in utter defeat was the fact he recognized those eyes. They still held a faint warmth and softness in them when they greeted his own blue before all three disappeared. Falling to his knees, Naruto's eyes focused on the ground before him in order to focus on anything other than those eyes. Neji turned to his comrade with his own dumbfounded expression. "You recognized those eyes... too right?" Staying quiet for a long moment a fist was brought up to pound the ground below him. "Those bastards! Those bastards took her eyes!" Looking back to the compound Neji sighed. "And used those very eyes to wipe out the original owner's clan. Perhaps they were right about the cursed seal."

* * *

As the three reached the hideout in which they would be staying Kisame watched as Hinata kept ahead of them and looked to Itachi. "Are all you the same? First an Uchiha wipes out his own clan leaving one alive and now a Hyuga." Itachi kept quiet at the remark as he stared ahead. They had gotten what they needed out of this mission; the wipe out of a clan who could have become a considerable problem eventually and a barely controlled Hyuga finally completing the deed of getting rid of any chances to bring them forth from their trance. The genjutsu in which they were put in when the two arrived to retrieve her after the arrival of the Nine Tails held strongly and tightly. It was as if the girl's mind itself had given up, no longer wishing to be truly aware of her actions. A perfect weapon. "No we're not, if the brat hadn't interrupted all of them would have died, whereas I choose to leave one alive." A low grunt of satisfaction at Itachi's answer came from Kisame as a laugh escaped him. "Who knows, maybe she's slowly turning out more like me."

* * *

*Sighs* A relatively unfulfilling chapter considering what I could have done with this but what can I say? I'm no good at fight scenes or mass murder; not my particular cup of tea.

Poor Neji and Naruto, so blind to the truth.


	4. Chapter 3: Mistakes That Were Never Made

As Tsunade sat at her desk with a bottle of sake next to her all the Fifth Hokage could think about was how no amount of alcohol in the world could make the situation in which had been dealt to Konoha any lighter to the hand that was handling it. Remembering the shock in Neji's face had shaken something in the village leader. It was natural for a Hyuga to have no emotion, but the fact that his lack of emotion on the matter hadn't been deprived from his upbringing but from the sight in which had lied before him upon entering the compound only to be attacked by someone who possessed his dead cousin's eyes was a thought to bring anyone to their knees.

Hell she began to wonder how the village had even handled the slaughter of the Uchiha, witnessing it first hand as she and Anbu ninja were called to the scene after the arrival of Naruto dragging a shock induced Neji to the hospital allowed the higher ups to become aware of the situation.

It was excruciating, the idea at first had been to check each and every Hyuga's pulse for no visible wounds would have made anyone think they were dead, simply caught in a jutsu that had put them into a deep slumber. They all looked like they were asleep, the only thing making anyone aware of the seriousness in the situation being the lack of any sort of rise and fall in their chests. She was thankful to be called away when an Anbu agent landed gracefully beside her.

"The village council has been made aware of the situation, your presence has been requested in order to decipher how to go about the slaughter." The agent's last words didn't settle well with voluptuous blonde woman, specifically the word 'slaughter'. This didn't particularly feel like a slaughter, whoever the killer was had been silent in their efforts, if it wasn't for Naruto catching them in the act and interfering, given how private the Hyuga were it probably would have taken them longer to notice the lack of their presence. This killing almost felt too personal to be considered a slaughter, much more it was too clean and when the thought of the word slaughter came to her she thought of the gore and blood in which had been described in the Uchiha slaughter. Not this neat form of killing.

Upon arriving Tsunade became violently aware of the fact that the council members from the Hyuga clan were missing, the empty seats only making the reality of what had occurred tonight all the more real. "We need to talk about the retrieval of the eyes." Stated one council member quite boldly given the circumstances. Despite that the woman couldn't help but agree with it, the eyes had become dangerous in the wrong hands. "We also need to talk about the fact the Akatsuki had made the decision to wipe out a clan, specifically the Hyuga Clan." The next statement came softly and despite the lack of boldness and authority in it which contrasted greatly with the other's first, the Hokage couldn't help but be more interested in that topic.

What plans were the Akatsuki setting in motion in which would have called for the appropriation of taking out an entire clan?

* * *

Naruto wasn't one to get any sleep that night, the Anbu had debriefed him and he offered all knowledge he knew since Neji was truly in no state to be debriefed at the moment. With that they had left him to his own devices as Neji was being treated with five Anbu on watch, determined not to lose their last Hyuga.

Lying in bed that night the blonde stared at the ceiling as the scene continued to replay in his head. Three Akatsuki members and one who had Hinata's eyes. It sparked a flame of rage in him as he continued to think about it. Not only had Hinata been killed but the bastards who had done it went to the extent of taking her eyes. It bothered the newly returned ninja to no limit, mostly due to the fact that those eyes were the ones he focused on when he had spoken to her, the ones he related to her and her only. They were one of the things about her he had been most enticed by, for they held so much warmth, contrary to the cold eyes of her clan members. They were the one thing about her that was the most _Hinata._

It didn't take long for Naruto to start doing the most Naruto thing about him. He began to blame himself. Perhaps if he had been keen on staying in the Leaf Village to train, maybe he would have been able to sense something was up and would have been there to protect Hinata. Maybe his team would have been sent on the mission instead and no one would have bothered to intercept them. The idea that the team had been targeted specifically due to Hinata's Byakugan wouldn't leave his head and as he tossed and turned and eventually got out of bed to lean against his wall and stare at the window. Focused in thought on an imaginary world where Hinata was still alive and he was ever the more confused about her reactions towards him.

For a split second, he smiled. For a moment the thought of it almost seemed real.

It was almost as if there was a ghostly image before him, sitting at the opposite edge of his window seal reassuring him that everything was okay. The image of a memory, a girl with short dark hair and pale lilac eyes who was too shy for her own good sitting before him speaking in the low tone that had reassured him when he had been in doubt.

Reaching out trying to grasp the soft porcelain skin that was the girl's forearm; everything vanished.

* * *

Hinata had remained silent for most of the time now. Almost uncharacteristically, Itachi was the most silent one of them all and it was as if Hinata was beginning to challenge his place; silently though of course. Kisame felt a sort of awkwardness that needed to be addressed, in fact he almost missed the soft voice that was soaked in a sinister coating.

They sat in a sort of living area of the hideout as Itachi seemed to have a thoughtful look while looking at the Hyuga while she simply stared down at her feet. Finally the swordsman couldn't take it anymore. "I'm going to go slice into something." _Something that isn't as thick as this silence_. Itachi looked up as if to say some sort of remark but all that seemed to acknowledge the other was the same silence that hung in the air.

"Kisame."

She had lost, she finally spoke and though her voice that was always too soft and bothered him to an extent, he couldn't have been more grateful to hear it. The fish looking man turned to look back at her with a questioning look. "I want to learn how to use some sort of weapon." Hinata stated without looking up, something he was also grateful for. Yet he stood there slightly confused, he wasn't a fan of others beating around the bush and while having been partnered with one was infuriating enough, being partnered with two people such as that was a special kind of torture.

Before Kisame could give some kind of snappish remark Itachi spoke. "I believe she's asking for recommendations." The Uchiha looked almost interested, as if he already had an idea for what she could become skilled at. "She's already lethal as it is." Honestly the swordsman didn't want to get dragged into this, he just wanted to get out of here and while they were finally talking it still didn't top cutting something into tiny little pieces. "You're right, yet I'm a short range fighter, my technique is easily wield useless against long range fighters." She finally looked up and her pale eyes focused on him.

"You're gifted with Byakugan. Seeing the chakra system and destroying it is something you were basically born for. All you have to do is get close enough for a single hit and it's over. Don't act like an incompetent child just because someone bested you with a kunai."

"That's it."

Kisame looked at Itachi and growled when there was a small hint of satisfaction in his gaze. "What?" Without even answering the question the Uchiha dismissed the other with a wave of his hand before looking at Hinata. "Senbon. Precise and deadly if you know where to aim, along with your Byakugan you could become a deadly asset fighting either short range or long range." Kisame shuddered at Itachi's statement. As if she wasn't a lethal enough asset already, it was like the Uchiha was making her into the perfect murdering machine. Leaving he figured Itachi could help her with that, he was more than capable when it came to that sort of thing. Though it almost bothered him, it was as Itachi was making up for lost time somehow. A Hyuga and a Uchiha were an odd pair but both held the means to delivering a quick end to their opponent in their eyes; they related in that way. While he began to understand Itachi's subtle gentleness when it came to teaching the girl he was still in the dark when it came to her wanting to learn such things.

As Itachi declared there to be some senbon in the hideout where weapons were kept, he was sure to tell her he would be training her with them. The Hyuga simply stared down at her bandaged hand as she fisted a bit of her cloak into it, not bothered by the pain so much as she was bothered by the fact she couldn't recall the bits and pieces of her already distorted memory of her past more and more lately. Everything was beginning to fade, yet there was one memory she was desperate not to lose no matter how blurry it had gotten the more she recalled it.

The memory of a smiling face declaring something along the lines of liking people like her.

The face and words were distorted with time but, despite the hold the Uchiha had on her it was kept stubbornly in the back of her mind.

* * *

After what seemed like years, which had actually been a week, Neji was finally allowed back into the compound. While things as quiet as footsteps and the shifting of clothes seemed amplified in the empty compound the only thing that made him aware of being constantly under watch was the constant piercing gaze of Anbu ninja keeping guard of the compound. Neji's feet didn't immediately lead him to his room in the branch family's area despite the drowsiness that slowly began to consume him but instead he kept to the main family's rooms and soon found the one he was looking for. Despite everything in which had happened Hiashi refused to clean out the room and insisted to keep everything in place while having it cleaned once a week of any dust. It was the only thing that would allow anyone to believe he actually cared about his daughters.

The room was left as if she would return any moment. It was exactly how she left it before having left on the mission. Sitting on the edge of the deceased girl's bed, the last surviving Hyuga member looked around the room idly. The most crushing thing wasn't that his entire clan was now gone, but the fact that the one person he was meant to protect and promised to was the person he had failed in the worst way possible. He didn't realise how terribly he had failed her until seeing her eyes.

 _She was cute, she stood there clinging to his uncle's leg in a shy manner as if an attempt to hide herself. Neji couldn't help but smile at her as a light blush formed on his face, partly because of the cold air but also because of how pretty the girl was._

" _You were born to protect her."_

 _Looking up at his father's words brushed against his ears he smiled. Yes, the young boy would treasure his destiny to forever protect her._

The sound of another in the compound pushed away the memory and alerted the pale eyed teenager as veins immediately formed around his eyes. Even though it could have been an Anbu patrolling the area it couldn't be helped that the brunette was still a man on edge. Finding the chakra source of the one in the compound he quickly realized it wasn't an Anbu member, but they weren't a threat either. Exiting the room he saw the other coming down the main hall from the entrance. "Hey Neji." Their voice was hesitant. "They said it was alright if I visited, yenno, just to see how you were doing." Naruto embarrassing scratched his nose and Neji held a cold gaze. "What do you want?" Clearly sensing he wasn't in the mood for company, Naruto's shoulders slumped. Though he came here for a reason.

"I was hoping we could go pay our respects to her. Yenno, after what happened."

Neji immediately froze. He hadn't been to Hinata's grave since the night of the attack though he remembered the conversation him and Naruto had had before that incident clearly. A conversation that had to do with going to the exact place where they had buried an empty casket.

For a moment Naruto thought the other would refuse but as they came closer to him they simply walked past him and towards the exist, making the blonde realize he was meant to follow.

The village had been idly quiet since the attack, which meant the streets were mostly empty, more so today for it was cloudy and perhaps people thought that was a tale tale sign for rain but it hadn't poured a drop.

Most of all people were scared.

Arriving at the graveyard he followed Neji past the tombstones, looking at the names of others who had lost their lives in a melancholy manner. He was too busy reading names to realize Neji had stopped and roughly bumped into the other but surprisingly it didn't seem to bother them. He was staring at a tombstone with a name inscribed in it and suddenly it all became real as Naruto looked to read the name.

 _Hinata Hyuga_

Naruto wouldn't have realized he fell to his knees if it wasn't for the sting of them landing against hard concrete.

 _Oh Kami it's real._

"You know, sometimes I wish that during the Chunnin exams I had actually killed her."

Naruto stared up at Neji in shock, there was a certain rage beginning to flare up within him once again and he knew that from this angle if he wanted to he could give Neji the same uppercut he had given him in their one fight. He contemplated it, beating the holy hell out of Neji for that one comment but his thoughts stopped dead as the pale eyed Hyuga looked up to the gray sky.

"Perhaps if I had, it would have been a way of protecting her. Perhaps everything I ever did was to protect her even if I didn't know it. I would have had my life to pay in return for hers to the main branch but the more I think about it perhaps I knew this was coming. I like to think that back then I sensed her fate and I was simply trying to protect her from it by making an attempt on her life that day. I can only imagine how painful her death may have been, it tortures me every night since the night I saw her eyes again. Thinking about her eyes being extracted and I can't help but wonder if she was alive for that and how painful her death must have been. At least if it was me who killed her I would have done it quickly."

The blonde kneeled there stunned as he listened to the usually apathetic and at times cruel long haired brunette pour his heart out to him. Naruto blamed himself for what happened but the fact of the matter was that in the end there was truly nothing he could have done about it. Neji on the other hand actually had things he could have done about it, and it was clear that he allowed that to eat away at him. It was then Naruto realized that Neji's shock hadn't been from losing his clan, a part of him figured Neji could have handled that. What it really was was seeing Hinata's eyes in someone else's head.

"Neji."

It was as if he had forgotten the other was there but before Naruto could say his name again he simply moved his hand slightly to make the other aware he had heard him and to continue. It was their next statement that made him turn to focus his gaze on them.

"I'll make them pay and get her eyes back, believe it."

* * *

I actually thought this one was a little long but in reality there's just a lot of paragraph breaks. Oh well.

I think this was actually the hardest chapter for me to write due to the fact it there was such a fast passed reach for a climax in the last one, like literally the wipe out of the Hygua clan then this one was sort of the aftermath, I've never been good with writing the aftermath with a lot of things but I tried.

I hope you guys enjoy it though!


	5. Announcement

Heyo guys! I just wanted to make a tiny announcement. Yes I am working on this story but as I was working on it I hit a little ordeal. The ordeal being I wanted to keep this as close to the Naruto universe as possible so Sasuke was still absent and gone rogue and the problem with that is well, can't really have Naruto chasing two different tails and it just makes things more complicated and far more difficult to deal with, I also don't want to step on any toes. So I'm gonna make this much more of an AU (even though it was always an AU but more of a 'let's change it up!' sort of thing) in which Sasuke didn't leave the village, meaning I'll be rewriting the first couple of chapters but trust me I have good things planned for this story ;)


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